A Lebanese Perspective on Obama's Perspective on Lebanon

From Jeha's Nail:

Obama’s statement on Lebanon was most interesting. In the middle of platitudes about the necessity for the “effort to undermine Lebanon's elected government needs to stop”, we get this little gem;

It's time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment.

Yes, we all want those things, and more; it's our country after all.

However, note the fact that he makes no mention of the necessary presidential election. Interestingly, this demand for electoral reform is not far from “opposition” demands, formulated before the current mess. I though official US policy was to ask for the election of a president first.

My take on this is that Obama meant presidential elections, as well as other electoral reforms, when he said "electoral reforms." And anyway, no president will be elected in Lebanon without some sort of electoral reforms. For better or worse, Obama has shown nothing but 100% support for the March 14th governing coalition. In February 2008, for example, Obama said,

We must keep supporting the democratically-elected government of PM Fouad Siniora, strengthening the Lebanese army and insisting on the disarmament of Hezbollah before it leads Lebanon into another unnecessary war."

The difference between Obama and the Bush administration on this matter, according to Obama, is in Bush's complete unwillingness to engage in any sort of diplomacy on the matter:

Washington musts rectify the wrong policy of President George Bush in Lebanon and resort to an efficient and permanent diplomacy, rather than empty slogans.

I'd imagine that Obama means diplomacy between March 14th and Hezbollah (and their allies), rather than the US and Hezbollah, but it does correspond with the senator's earlier claim that his potential administration would engage in diplomacy with Iran. March 14th, of course, is in seemingly constant (however fruitless) dialogue with the opposition, so, on the one hand, this might be more of a proposed shift in the US president's rhetoric toward Lebanon rather than in any meaningful policy change. But on the other hand, if Obama is really serious about sitting down with the Iranian government, that could very well affect Lebanon and in ways perhaps that could be seen as beneficial to Hezbollah.

In the meantime, West Beirut, at least in my neck of the woods, is still quiet as ever. There is, however, deadly fighting going on in Halba, in the northern Akkar region of Lebanon.